PART 1: Watch the videos and go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston
to collect general information about Boston. Then, write a
short paragraph to introduce the city!
Foundation
(date, by whom?)
Nicknames
Importance of the city
of Boston in the history
of the US
(2 major events +
dates)
Opinion of the nation
about Boston
Population
Profile
(old city?, young city?)
Education
(number of colleges and
universities)
Sports
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Boston, Massachusetts
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PART 2: Two Important Events in the History of Boston.
a) The Boston Massacre
Go to http://www.history.com/videos/boston-massacre-helps-sparkthe-american-revolution#cities-of-the-underworld-freemasonunderground.
It's ___ defining moment on ___ path of ___ American Revolution. ___ young wig
maker taunts ___ British soldier over ___ unpaid bill, and ___ sudden violence
breaks out, in ___ tragedy known as ___ Boston Massacre. ___ tensions between
___ colonists and ___ British had been high for 6 years. In ___ series of ___
unpopular laws - ___ Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Act - ___ British began
taxing ___ essential everyday goods like ___ sugar and ___ tea. ___ Bostonians
protested so loudly that ___ Britain sent ___ soldiers to keep ___ order. That just
made ___ things worse. By March 5, 1770, ___ town is primed for ___ fight,
furious about ___ recent death of ___ colonist shot by ___ British customs
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official. That night, ___ violence erupts after ___ apprentice taunts ___ Red Coat
and is hit with ___ rifle butt. ___ large crowd forms and ___ situation rapidly gets
out of hand. ___ soldiers began firing at ___ crowd, which quickly disperses. Five
colonists are on ___ ground, dead or dying. Nine soldiers are arrested. Only two
were later found guilty of ___ minor charge. Even though ___ colonists are partially
to blame for ___ fight, some see ___ opportunity to blame it all on ___ British. ___
Paul Revere publishes ___ hugely popular engraving he titles, "___ Bloody Massacre
perpetrated in ___ King Street." Though ___ British troops stay in ___ Boston for
another 5 years without ___ major bloodshed, ___ massacre is not easily forgiven.
It becomes one more reason to consider ___ rebellion.
What are the causes of the Boston Massacre?
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b) The Boston Tea Party
Go to http://www.history.com/videos/the-sons-of-liberty-and-theboston-tea-party#the-sons-of-liberty-and-the-boston-tea-party
Task 1: Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’ or ‘Ø’
On ___ cold winter night of December 16, 1773, ___ band of American colonists
approached three British ships in ___ Boston Harbour. ___ men are disguised as
___ Indians and they have ___ mission: destroy ___ tea on board each ship to
protest yet another British task on ___ colonies. ___ Boston Tea Party as it comes
to be known is rooted in ___ growing frictions between ___ colonies and ___
British Crown over ___ Parliament’s right to levy ___ taxes. For ___ past 13 years,
___ Britain has taxed ___ number of items used in ___ colonies, everything from
___ sugar to ___ playing cards. Each time ___ colonists protested. In 1773, ___
Parliament passed ___ Tea Act. This required ___ colonists to purchase only ___
British tea. Though it was actually cheaper than other teas, it was taxed and to
many colonists that was intolerable. In ___ Boston ___ colonists demanded ___ tea
ships return to ___ Britain. ___ British refused, so ___ colonists took ___ matters
into their own hands. “___ interesting thing about ___ Tea Party is we think like
there’s like ___ wild sort of riot or mob, and that there’s ___ mass confusion, and
actually ___ colonists were really specifically interested in making ___ point about
___ tea to ___ British. So they didn’t storm and destroy ___ ship. They actually
didn’t damage this ship at all. They just went for ___ tea. They didn’t even wreck
___ lock to ___ hatch. They just wanted to make ___ point that ___ tax was bad
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and they were going to show that by just destroying ___ tea.” ___ British were
outraged. They closed ___ Boston Harbor to ___ trade and tried to assert even
more control over ___ Massachusetts. ___ colonists resisted, united in ___ growing
defiance against ___ England. Sixteen months after ___ Boston Tea party, in 1775,
___ American Revolution began.
Task 2: Answer the following questions.
1. What did the British ships transport? _______________________________
2. True or False?
a) A group of Indians went aboard the ships to accomplish a mission.
True.
False.
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b) The American colonists knew exactly what to do. Their mission was well
organised.
True.
False.
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c) The American colonists burned the British ships down.
True.
False.
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d) The British surrendered immediately.
True.
False.
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3. Find a link word expressing CONTRAST.
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4. Find a link word expressing CONSEQUENCE.
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GRAMMAR POINT 1: The Articles ‘A/An’, ‘The’ and ‘Ø’.
Observe the following sentences and deduce a few rules about the use of
the articles ‘a/an’, ‘the’ and ‘Ø’ in English.
•
•
‘It’s a defining moment on the path of the American Revolution.’
‘On a cold winter night of December 16, 1773, a band of American colonists approached
three British ships in Boston Harbor’
•
•
•
‘…they have a mission: destroy the tea on board each ship …’
‘Sixteen months after the Boston Tea party, in 1775, the American Revolution began.’
‘On a cold winter night of December 16, 1773, a band of American colonists approached
three British ships in Boston Harbor. The men are disguised as Indians’
‘Even though the Colonists are partially to blame for the fight, some see the
opportunity to blame it all on the British.’
•
•
•
•
‘For the past 13 years, Britain has taxed a number of items used in the colonies,
everything from Ø sugar to playing Ø cards.’
‘Ø Paul Revere publishes a hugely popular engraving’
‘[The British] closed Ø Boston Harbour to trade and tried to assert even more control
over Ø Massachusetts. The Colonists resisted, united in a growing defiance against Ø
England.’
A / An
The
Ø
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PART 3: Things to see or do in Boston.
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a) Watch the video and take a few notes about the top 10 attractions
in Boston
ATTRACTION
N°1
N°2
N°3
N°4
N°5
N°6
N°7
N°8
N°9
N°10
NAME
WHAT SORT OF PLACE IS IT?
b) Places of interest in Boston
Go to http://www.aviewoncities.com/boston/bostonattractions.htm
and
http://www.iboston.org/pap/freedom.htm
and
find
the
characteristics of the following places in Boston.
1. How long is the Freedom Trail?
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2. How big is Boston Common?
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3. How many storeys do the houses in Back Bay have?
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4. How old is Paul Revere’s house?
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5. How tall is Bunker Hill Monument?
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GRAMMAR POINT: Compound Adjectives of Measurement.
•
In English numbers can be combined with nouns in the SINGULAR to form
compound adjectives with hyphens:
a twenty-year-old man (Not *a twenty-years-old man)
•
-
Compound adjectives of this kind can refer to:
age: a three-year-old building
volume: a two-litre car
length: a twelve-inch ruler
price: a sixty-dollar dress
weight: a ten-kilo bag
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area: a twenty-acre farm
duration: a four-hour meeting
depth: a six-foot hole
time/distance: a ten-minute walk
Time to Practise!
Use the information you collected about The Freedom Trail, Boston Common, Back
Bay, Paul Revere’s house, Bunker Hill Monument and write sentences about these
places using compound adjectives of measurement and words from the word bank.
1) The Freedom Trail is a ______________________________________________
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2) Boston Common _____________________________________________________
3) Back Bay ____________________________ with __________________ houses.
4) Paul Revere’s house _________________________________________________
5) Bunker Hill Monument _______________________________________________
WORD BANK
a dwelling (= house) – an affluent neighbourhood – a granite obelisk –
a public park - a walking tour
PART 4: A Famous Bostonian: Edgar Allan Poe.
Listen to the recordings, take a few notes, then write a short paragraph
about this person.
YOUR NOTES
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